


Frozen Fever

by VirginiasWolf



Series: Life Moves On [28]
Category: Death in Paradise
Genre: F/M, Yes the title references what you think it references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-29
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:27:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22460314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VirginiasWolf/pseuds/VirginiasWolf
Summary: Richard and Camille reflect on some lessons about parenting in the aftermath of a very stressful day where he was forced to take off work after one of their adopted daughters contracted the flu.Part of the Life Moves On series.
Relationships: Camille Bordey/Richard Poole
Series: Life Moves On [28]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1456375
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Frozen Fever

Richard pauses and leans his forehead against the kitchen doorway before sighing deeply. 

  
"Did you have a rough day Cherie?" Camille asks as she turns from the groceries she has been putting away. There is a teasing note to her voice, but she is actually wholly sympathetic to his plight. The flu has recently hit their household and although three of the four family members have remained unscathed, five-year-old Rory has not.

  
Because they have tried their hardest to raise the girls in an egalitarian household, Richard chose to be the parent who took off of work to stay home and care for the youngest Poole.

  
Now, he answers her question with one of his own. "Do you know how many times I had to watch Frozen today? Five, and the moment I tried to suggest a different cartoon she burst into tears. I am feeling quite ready to just leave Olaf outside of your mother's bar until he melts into a puddle that absolutely cannot ask for warm hugs."

  
The battle to remain straight-faced is lost before it even begins, and Camille can't help but burst out laughing. The moment she manages to compose herself she quips, "you do know he isn't real, don't you?"

  
All Richard manages in response is "Five times Camille." After a moment he looks down and Camille follows his gaze. Dangling limply from his hand is a fluffy pink stuffed bunny rabbit. "Ah, I came downstairs to throw this in the washing machine while she is asleep."

  
The washer and dryer are both under a counter in the kitchen, a fact which Camille still finds strange despite now knowing it is apparently quite common in the UK. Even so, she continues putting the groceries away as Richard puts a load of clothes and the prized stuffed animal into the washing machine.

  
As he straightens his posture again, Camille can't help but reflect on how different he is from the other men she's known. Despite everything he has been through, Richard is a wonderfully kind and gentle man. Once Camille had managed to dismantle the wall he'd put around himself she had realized that he was willing to put the same level of dedication to being a husband, a father and even a pet owner that he does towards solving a case. 

  
"You truly are a remarkable man." The words slip out of her mouth without her intending for them to do so, and Richard looks at her with an endearingly quizzical expression.

  
"Camille, the washing machine is relatively simple to operate."

  
"Oh shut up, you know that isn't what I'm talking about." Camille picks up the floral print dishtowel and tosses it at Richard. He manages to duck just in time to avoid being hit in the face.

  
"So despite wearing sweatpants and smelling like vomit I've managed to do something that you find to be romantic and endearing. Honestly, I shouldn't be praised just for trying to be decent. Half the time you get emotional when I just put the bare minimum in."

  
Of course, that's the way his mind works. He never sees what he is doing as special. He's right in the belief that putting effort into a relationship should be an obvious thing to do, but he never just puts the bare minimum in. Five years into their marriage and he still surprises her with homecooked meals and does little things like leave a chocolate bar on her desk at work when he knows she is having a particularly rough day. He's amazing with their kids too. No matter what he is doing he'll stop immediately to help Emily work through a difficult math problem, and once he even allowed Rory to put a feather boa and tiara on him while he was in the middle of a Skype conversation with Fidel. Even more remarkable, unlike the man she first met, he didn't even turn red or bother to explain himself when this happened. 

  
Her sweet, lovely husband also forgets something important in his attempts to downplay himself though. "Well, I grew up half terrified that I'd end up marrying a man who was exactly like my father. So what you are doing is not the bare minimum for me."

  
"Oh." He looks almost guilty for a moment before he continues speaking. "Well, you deserve the best." That's another thing she loves about him. He doesn't have to think about his response. He just instinctively knows that he wants the best for her.

  
She steps forward intending to kiss him before realizing that he wasn't joking about smelling like vomit. Instead, she allows her face to crinkle up in disgust as she pushes him away. "Go take a shower."

  
"Yes, Ma'am."

  
As soon as she hears the footsteps retreating upstairs Camille decides to go into the living room and check on Emily and her homework. She finds her elder daughter trying desperately to wrestle a binder away from Murphy the dog. Camille takes a second to shoot Emily a scolding look before managing to retrieve the binder herself. "Why don't you go sit in the kitchen and be a productive Emily?" As soon as Emily walks away Camille turns to Murphy. "And I am keeping an eye on you, Monsieur Murphy."

  
When Camille returns to the kitchen, Emily has already spread her papers out on a section of the island. "Maman, why do you talk like that?"

  
"Like what mon Cherie?"

  
"Be a productive Emily. Mrs. Collins says that isn't grammatically correct."

  
Camille suddenly finds herself wanting to turn red. Her strange wording of sentences and at times mangled grasp on English expressions serve to be one of the reminders that she will never quite be able to pass for normal here, and although she knows the question was innocent it does make her at loss for how to answer.

  
Luckily, this happens to be the moment in which Richard walks back into the room. "I'm sure Mrs. Collins can only speak English. Your mother is lucky enough to also be able to speak French, and you are quite lucky to have her to teach it to you."

  
As soon as he has finished speaking, Richard walks further into the room and comes to stand behind Camille before wrapping his arms around her waist and briefly nestling his face in the crook of her neck which causes the bristles of his beard to tickle at her in a way that is strangely comforting.

  
Camille can't help but smile when she hears the sound of Emily making fake gagging noises at the display of affection. "Emily, someday you may also fall in love."

  
"Gross."

  
At this response that feels very typical ten year old, Camille turns to Richard and fails to avoid bursting into laughter. Once she has managed to compose herself again, she can't resist stealing a kiss from her husband, if only to further disgust Emily, before she speaks. "You two are going to have to decide what we will have for dinner. I am going to go check on Rory."

  
Camille carries a tray upstairs that holds a small amount of chicken soup, a cup of juice and a bowl of jello. She isn't sure exactly how much she can expect a sick five-year-old to eat, but she feels she needs to try to get something of substance into her daughter. She finds Rory asleep, tangled in several blankets. For a moment she watches the sleeping child before lightly touching her shoulder to wake her up. "Feeling better?"

  
"No," is the quiet yet somehow drama-filled response she receives. Despite being adopted, Rory really is Richard's daughter at heart. Camille can only assume that this is the same string of dramatics her mother was forced to go through when Richard had jungle fever.

  
"Would you at least like to try eating something? I have Grandma Jennifer's chicken soup." Camille manages to avoid stating that she finds Jennifer Poole's chicken soup to be weird and bland much in the same way that she knows Richard finds her mother's chicken soup to be uncomfortably spicy. She's long since learned to accept that her very English family is just going to largely stick with the weird bland version of the dish.

  
"I'm not hungry."

  
"Well, I am not leaving until you eat something. Your body needs food in it even if you only take very small bites."

  
-  
A few hours later Camille finds herself relieved by how even Emily is now in bed, leaving her and Richard time to finally relax together on the couch. For several years now, Camille has been suckered into Richard's love of _Antiques Roadshow_. It reminds her of detective work and it also happens to be an excellent bonding experience with him.

  
They make a game out of it; bantering much like they used to back on Saint Marie, except with guessing and betting over what certain items will be and what value they will be appraised for. There's never really any ill intent or rush to be right, for they often use stolen kisses as a currency method, which she only wishes could have ended all of their island fights as well.

  
They are both too tired to play their game tonight though. Camille is sitting up leaning against the cushions of the couch, so relaxed that she is practically melting into them. If her mother were to see her right now she would probably be chided for sitting in an unladylike manner, but Richard is the only person who can see her and he is even more relaxed than she is. His head is resting on her lap, and she is idly running her fingers through his hair.

  
They've both earned this level of laziness. She is certainly relieved that today was Friday and neither of them are on rotation this weekend. They have two whole days to work together to get their sick daughter well again and then come Monday they can both be back at the precinct. Partners always work better together.

  
"I can't believe you watched Frozen five times today."

  
Richard's entire body shudders as if he's just been reminded of something truly nightmarish. "I cannot understand how she took so much joy from watching the same film over and over again, and she expected me to actually sing along with the bloody songs...every single time."

  
At this Camille can't help but crack a small smile. He really has changed from the man she first met all those years ago. The sweet yet incredibly shy and defensive Englishman she once knew would never have admitted being forced to sing along with Disney songs. "I would pay to see that."

  
Richard lets out a soft sigh before muttering, "Let it go Camille."

**Author's Note:**

> I myself do quite like Frozen (in fact my ex-friends even bought me an Olaf keychain and Frozen coffee mug for Christmas one year), but I can't imagine watching it five times in one day so I fully pity Richard. However, I hope you guys also find the image of him forced to watch it five times in one day as hilarious as I do, and yes the final line of the fic is him purposely making a Frozen reference.


End file.
